Thursday, 10 April 2014

There was Ready Brek loaded with Golden Syrup, and that advert that showed
the kid going to school surrounded by a warm (radioactive?) glow.

There was toast. And it was thick, white and dripping with
salted butter. (Or even beef dripping. True story.) Oh and that chocolate sauce
that you could get in a white plastic tub, remember that?

Porridge was around, but it was fine to lace it with cream
and cover it with crunchy sugar. And Coco Pops were a joy because they turned
the milk brown and you could even add a bit of extra sugar 'coz no-one cared!

There was the Frosties tiger bouncing around selling
us sugary flakes of corn and although there was sensible Weetabix, you were
still allowed to sprinkle it with (white) sugar.

Ahh, those were the days. No-one tried to get you to eat
fruit for breakfast - unless you were at a fancy hotel and you had half a
grapefruit with a cherry on, which it was ok to leave - and marmalade was
practically a health food (all that fruit!)

And now, reader? What are we faced with?

Breakfast guilt, that's what.

If my cereal bowl isn't rocking chia seeds, quinoa and a
sprinkling of goji berries, I feel as though I'm engaging in culinary
self-harm.

If my bread doesn't look like a bunch of seeds squished
together with amaranth flour, then I am just a tool of the great Chorleywood Bread Process Conspiracy.

I feel judged. I feel conflicted. And most of all I don't
know what the hell I'm supposed to eat for breakfast.

For a while I thought granola was the way forward but then I
checked the sugar content. Ouch!

And then it came to me. Why not make a healthy, homemade
granola? Ha ha!

So I did.

It is OUT with breakfast guilt and IN with natural(ish)
sugar. And I'm even starting to enjoy breakfast more, hurrah!

Nut free, dairy free, gluten free Granola

There are two ways to make granola; on a modest scale or on an industrial scale. I always favour the latter, but I realise that not everyone likes to spend hours wrestling with giant-sized portions. So I've given modest quantities that you can just double or triple as you see fit.

Approx 60g dried fruit (blueberries, raisins, etc), or you can leave these out if you like

Line a baking tray with baking parchment and set aside

Preheat oven to 180° Celsius

Grind the sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and linseeds and place in a large mixing bowl

Add the gluten free oats, coconut and cinnamon powder and raisins/dried fruit if using

In a small saucepan, place the coconut oil, vanilla bean paste and maple syrup and heat gently until the oil has melted

Pour the melted oil into the mixing bowl and stir until all the ingredients are coated

Spread the mixture onto the baking tray and use the back of a spoon (or potato masher) to squish it all down (this helps the clumps of granola to form during baking)

Bake in the oven for 10-20 mins until the surface is lightly browned, but keep checking as the seeds can burn quickly

When the surface is browned, use a spatula to turn the mix over. Try to keep the granola in clumps as you do so

Bake again until the surface is lightly browned, then remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking tray

When completely cool, break off lumps of the granola and place into a storage jar. You might find that the granola doesn't stay in lumps, or only some of it does. This is the willful nature of Granola, what can I say?

Wednesday, 2 April 2014

Recently, I was sent a copy of the Allergy Free Baby and
Toddler Book to review. It's by Charlotte Muquit (mum to Zach who has food
allergies and Coeliac disease) and Dr Adam Fox (all round paediatric allergy
god).

Let me give it to you
straight: I am a terrible reviewer because I forget that I've been sent
stuff and then I wake up in a panic at 3am.

So to prevent that happening with
the Allergy Free Baby and Toddler Book, I left it on the kitchen windowsill so
that it would remind me.

It stared at me for a month in an accusing way.

But then one Saturday morning I took the book along to the
crazy early swim session that two of my children attend.

Reader, from 0715 to 0915 I was transfixed by this book.

It contains a wealth of clearly explained, practical
information to help parents understand the confusing world of food allergies.

I particularly love the quotes from parents explaining how
they dealt with food allergy-related problems and how they felt about the
attitudes of medical staff and well-meaning family members. It reminded me
vividly of how hard it was to have a toddler with food allergies and in
particular how hard it was to get family members (and doctors) to take the
allergies seriously. I wish this book had been available at the time because it
would have helped enormously.

And I'm so ditzy, I'd completely forgotten that Charlotte had asked me to contribute a quote to the book.

On page 93 I started to read a quote by a mum saying how
cool Medibands are for younger children. I think I even nodded because I loved
Medibands when my daughter was younger...and then I got to the end of the quote
and saw my name.

I know. Truly ditzy. But it's probably worth buying the book just to have my words in print, right?!

There are too many sections to list in a review, but with
chapters on Anaphylaxis, Everyday Allergy Management, Asthma, Eczema, Allergic
Rhinitis and more, this really is a one-stop information source for parents of
children with food allergies. If your child has just been diagnosed, then it's
a must-buy.

And for when you're experimenting with your child's diet and
excluding allergens, there are useful charts in the Resources section to help
you monitor your child's symptoms. These would also be handy on the website as printable pdfs...just
saying!

It's always a good time to make...

Get each new recipe delivered to your inbox! Woohoo!

Pig is feeling the lurve...

‘I've been cooking your recipes for 2 years and you are my God, Guru, Oh Great One...down here in New Zealand we eat one of your recipes at least once a day.’Diane, New Zealand

"Thank you so much for this recipe. I'm a total baking novice (I had to buy everything, right down to measuring spoons and scales to make these), but I really wanted to be able to make something for my my egg/dairy-free daughter while she was home for Christmas. These came out so well when I was having a practise run that I actually took one in a tiny cake tin to Heathrow to meet her! I made them many times while she was here, including for Christmas breakfast, and when she was leaving I made them again to take back to the airport with us. They were like little beacons of love, with added chocolate!" Anne

Hi Pig! Just wanted to share that although we've had the fab news my boy can now eat cooked egg as an ingredient and I'm baking like a crazed Mary Berry on steroids, he still is adamant that CAKE OF SUCCESS is the best cake in the world!!!! So I wont be throwing away the golden syrup or linseeds too soon! Lucy, Wales xxxx

'Great blog - your photos are gorgeous! Thanks for sharing all your great recipes with the world! :)'The Marketing Mama

'Dear Pig,I came across your blog after it was mentioned on mumsnet. I am practically crying.Thank you. Not only is there an overwhelming richness in terms of foods and recipe variations but all of the stories too!Bless you XXX'Anon

'I made the bread rolls yesterday. They were fabulous. Is here an appropriate place to admit that I ate all six?'MommaloveUk

The great thing about your recipes is that they are designed for a busy mum. I can buy nearly all the ingredients at the supermarket and most of them seem pretty hard to get wrong. Your blog has saved me hours of frustration trying to adapt normal recipes, saved me tons of money in ingredients and saved my dog from type II diabetes I am sure :-) Anyway we are most grateful! Sam(via email)

'Hi, another new adept here... After being given your site info from my sister who's in England, I immediately searched your recipes for something to give a horde of 8-year-old boys coming to my son's birthday party. Your chocolate cupcakes were an absolute hit with everyone. Thank you!'Kevyn, Canada

'My partner and I made double batches of these [pittas] and ate them hot from the oven with hummous and they are FANTASTIC.'

Aliceone

'LOVE your blog - both the writing and the recipes! My little boy is dairy, egg and soya intolerant and yours is the only place I've found where I can browse recipes with gay abandon!'

Isla Kirk, UK

'This is seriously good crumble.'

Reader Vicki Groth's husband while eating Pear Crumble. He is clearly a man with Good Taste.